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Biomedical subjects

N Kuno

Publications and source records attributed to N Kuno.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Decrease in severity of intrauterine growth retardation in subsequent pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is likely to recur in a subsequent pregnancy. We investigated the obstetric features of recurrent cases and the severity of IUGR by comparing initial and subsequent deliveries. METHODS: From a total of 12,567 deliveries, 95 women who were delivered of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants and who became pregnant again within 5 years, were enrolled. A retrospective, comparative study of recurrent and non-recurrent groups was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-two of ninety-five women gave birth to SGA infants again, and a relatively high risk of recurrence was confirmed, but no single recurrence-associated features were revealed. Within the recurrent group, the degree of IUGR was more severe in only five cases in the subsequent pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: IUGR tends to recur, but does not increase in severity in most cases. We conclude that there is no need for excessive concern about the recurrence of IUGR.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The concentration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in human amniotic fluid at second trimester: relation to fetal birth weight.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was measured in 28 samples of amniotic fluid, 1 of fetal urine and 5 of first neonatal urine. The mean level of HGF was 12.4 +/- 4.5 ng/ml (second trimester) and 10.5 +/- 6.6 ng/ml (third trimester). These values were extremely high compared to that in plasma from normal subjects and greater than the plasma levels from patients with acute hepatitis. The concentration of amniotic HGF at second trimester showed a significant inverse correlation both with birth weight (r = 0.47; p < 0.05) and birth weight deviation (r = 0.54; p < 0.02). The level of HGF in fetal urine (0.10 ng/ml) and in the first neonatal urine (0.08 +/- 0.02 ng/ml) were much less than that in amniotic fluid. HGF stimulated DNA synthesis of human fetal liver cells in vitro. While the effect was dose dependent, a maximal response was reached with about 0.2 ng/ml, attaining a 1.3-fold stimulation. The presence of extremely high levels of HGF in the amniotic fluid may be involved not in fetal growth, but rather in maturation of fetal organs such as the lung and the digestive tract.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1995

Pancreatic stone protein and lactoferrin in human pancreatic juice in chronic pancreatitis.

Lactoferrin and pancreatic stone protein (PSP) are thought to be closely related to pancreatic stone formation in chronic pancreatitis. However, the results reported so far have not been conclusive. To reevaluate the pathological importance of PSP in chronic pancreatitis, compared to lactoferrin, levels of PSP were determined by applying an immunoassay specific to PSP to pure pancreatic juice taken from a total of 52 patients. The patients consisted of 16 controls, 19 chronic pancreatitis patients (13 noncalcified and 6 calcified), and 17 probable cases of pancreatitis. The monoclonal antibody PSP antagonist used in the study recognizes both forms of the protein, PSP S1 and S2-5, with equal effectiveness. No significant reduction of PSP was observed in either calcified (mean +/- SEM, 111 +/- 30 micrograms/mg and 24 +/- 3 micrograms/mg protein) or noncalcified (305 +/- 133 and 97 +/- 47) chronic pancreatitis patients compared with controls (85 +/- 23 and 34 +/- 16). PSP levels did not decrease, at least not in the complete forms of the protein found in chronic pancreatitis. PSP antibody and assay results indicated that a reduction of PSP S2-5 alone could not be ruled out in chronic pancreatitis either.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of the effect of pancreatic resection in advanced pancreatic cancer with special reference using hospital-free survival as a measure of quality of life.

Comparisons of surgical procedures and the identification of prognostic factors in pancreatic cancer were carried out on 158 patients who underwent surgery in Aichi Cancer Center from 1975 to 1991 for advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Survival and 'hospital-free survival (HFS), which we consider the best general means of measuring quality of life (QOL) in such severe and often fatal disease, were identified as primary end points, and the effect of pancreatectomy, compared with palliative surgery (by-pass operation, etc.) for TNM Stages III and IV pancreatic cancer was evaluated. Both survival and HFS were significantly longer in the group of patients who underwent pancreatectomies (R group, n 25) compared to the group without pancreatic resection (NR group, n 35) in Stage III cases. In Stage IV cases, however, no significant difference was observed between the R (n 12) and NR (n 86) groups. From these results, we conclude that an extensive pancreatic resection against Stage III pancreatic cancer may improve prognosis. For Stage IV pancreatic cancers, however, aggressive surgery might not always be beneficial either for survival or for QOL.

Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast↗
PubMed1994

Replication of the Streptomyces plasmid pSN22 through single-stranded intermediates.

The replication of the 11 kb conjugative multicopy Streptomyces plasmid pSN22 was analyzed. Mutation and complementation analyses indicated that the minimal region essential for plasmid replication was located on a 1.9 kb fragment of pSN22, containing a transacting element encoding a replication protein and a cis-acting sequence acting as a replication origin. Southern hybridization showed that minimal replicon plasmids accumulated much more single-stranded plasmid molecules than did wild-type pSN22. Only one strand was accumulated. A 500 bp fragment from the pSN22 transfer region was identified which reduced the relative amount of single-stranded DNA, when added in the native orientation to minimal replicon plasmids. This 500 bp DNA sequence may be an origin for second-strand synthesis. It had no effect on the efficiency of co-transformation, plasmid incompatibility, or stability. The results indicate that pSN22 replicates via single-stranded intermediates by a rolling circle mechanism.

DNA Replication↗
PubMed1994

Effectiveness of multivariate analysis of tumor markers in diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma: a prospective study in multiinstitutions.

In 403 patients suspected of having pancreatic cancer, we prospectively studied a combination assay of various serum tumor markers: CA19-9, DUPAN2, tissue polypeptide antigen, elastase 1, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, lactate dehydrogenase, lipase, amylase, and alkaline phosphatase. The diagnostic value of each marker was compared with a multivariate analysis (computer-aided multivariate and pattern analysis system for pancreatic cancer examine-1: CAMPAS-PX1). Pancreatic cancer was subsequently identified in 47 patients. CAMPAS-PX1 had higher negative in health and positive predictability than those of each marker used alone in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. CAMPAS-PX1 proved the most effective marker for diagnosing pancreatic cancer, but in terms of its cost/benefit ration CAMPAS-PX1 was not superior to CA19-9 used alone. In this prospective trial, we experienced poor generalizability in the statistical models (CAMPAS-PX1). We believe that selection bias was present in samples used for model building. Based on this study a new model has been designed.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Prognostic values of preoperative and postoperative CEA and CA19.9 levels in pancreatic cancer.

Preoperative serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and/or carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA19.9) were measured in 90 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. CEA antigen was above the cutoff levels of 5.0 ng/ml in 51% of patients and CA19.9 was above the cutoff limit of 37 U/ml in 87% of patients. High preoperative CEA and CA19.9 levels were related to a poor prognosis of the patients. In multivariate analysis, the hazard rate was significantly higher in the high-CEA group (> 2.5 ng/ml) compared to the low-CEA group (< 2.4 ng/ml). An increase in CEA and/or CA19.9 within 1 month after the operation was also significantly related to the hazard rate. This study reconfirms the prognostic importance of preoperative and postoperative CEA and CA19.9.

CA-19-9 Antigen↗
PubMed1994

[Early detection of pancreatic cancer by serum markers].

Serum markers such as pancreatic enzymes and tumor markers are useful for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Among 40 cases of pancreatic cancer, elevated values were observed for immunoreactive elastase (IRE) in 70% and for CA19-9 in 73%. Elevated serum IRE was observed more frequently in head cancer and resectable cancer, whereas elevation in CA19-9 occurred more often in body-tail cancer and unresectable cancer. Elevation of serum IRE and CA19-9 are useful for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer but it is not specific for pancreatic cancer. Therefore, we studied the clinical usefulness of a combination assay of various serum markers such as CA19-9, lipase, serum iron, amylase, albumin globulin ratio, tissue polypeptide antigen, immunoreactive trypsin, and CA125 using the logistic regression analysis. This assay showed higher sensitivity and high specificity for pancreatic cancer than CA19-9. This combination assay may be very useful for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Amylases↗
PubMed1993

[The amnioinfusion therapy of saline solution for premature rupture of the membranes before 27 weeks' gestational age].

Saline solution amnioinfusion was performed for 12 cases of preterm PROM before 27 weeks gestational age complicated by oligohydramnios in order to suppress chorioamnionitis, prevent fetal pulmonary hypoplasia and delay delivery. The results were as follows. 1. The mean gestational ages at diagnosis of premature rupture of membranes and initiating saline solution amnioinfusion were 23.6 +/- 2.9 weeks and 24.9 +/- 1.5 weeks, respectively. The mean duration of saline solution amnioinfusion was 14.7 +/- 11.9 days. The mean gestational age at delivery was 27.2 +/- 1.7 weeks. The mean birth weight was 1,056 +/- 220g. 2. Saline solution amnioinfusion was effective in relieving oligohydramnios in all cases. No pulmonary hypoplasia was observed in the infants. 3. Clinically saline solution amnioinfusion was effective in suppressing chorioamnionitis in 9 cases out of 12. Histologically the picture of chorioamnionitis was revealed in 10 cases out of 12. no serious infection was observed in the infants. 4. Nine infants out of 12 survived. There were 2 IUFD and one neonatal death. The perinatal survival rate was 75%. 5. It is concluded from the above results that saline solution amnioinfusion is an effective treatment for preterm PROM before 27 weeks' gestational age.

Amnion↗
PubMed1992

Overproduction of biologically-active human nerve growth factor in Escherichia coli.

A gene coding for human nerve growth factor (hNGF) was constructed for expression under control of the trp promoter in E. coli. The plasmid pTRSNGF contained a synthetic hNGF gene fused, in frame, to the region encoding the beta-lactamase signal peptide. The plasmid pTRLNGF contained the same coding sequence as hNGF attached downstream from the N-terminal fragment of the trp L gene. E. coli cells harboring pTRSNGF produced an amount of hNGF constituting 4% of the total cellular protein, and removed the beta-lactamase signal peptide. The mature protein hNGF was biologically active in the PC12h bioassay for neurite outgrowth. This biological activity was comparable to that of authentic mouse NGF. E. coli cells harboring pTRLNGF produced an amount of fusion protein hNGF constituting 25% of the total cellular protein. Although the fusion protein hNGF formed inclusion bodies in cells, dissolved fusion protein hNGF was active in neurite outgrowth from PC12h cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Binding of [3H]p-aminoclonidine to two sites, alpha 2-adrenoceptors and imidazoline binding sites: distribution of imidazoline binding sites in rat brain.

Binding sites labeled by [3H]p-aminoclonidine [( 3H]PAC) were investigated by the competitive analysis with imidazoline and non-imidazoline derivatives. Phenylethylamine derivatives displaced only the part of specific sites for [3H]PAC, which was considered as alpha 2-adrenoceptor, whereas imidazoline derivatives, such as clonidine and tolazoline, competed for a further specific binding of [3H]PAC to the non-adrenergic sites, in addition to the alpha 2-adrenoceptor. Because the non-adrenergic sites were specific for the imidazoline structure, they were termed imidazoline sites. The imidazoline sites were not distributed uniformly among rat brain regions. In striatum, hippocampus and medulla oblongata, they occupied 39.6, 33.0 and 36.5% of the specific binding of [3H]PAC, respectively. Saturation isotherms revealed that Kd and Bmax of imidazoline sites for [3H]PAC were 3.09 +/- 0.59 nM, 27.4 +/- 1.7 fmol/mg protein and 2.23 +/- 0.29 nM, 21.0 +/- 1.5 fmol/mg protein in striatum and hippocampus, respectively. Because imidazoline binding sites also displayed weak affinities for imidazole compounds, such as histamine and cimetidine, the imidazoline site may be a subtype of histamine H2-receptor.

Animals↗